Kohl to retire

posted at 10:55 am on May 13, 2011 by Ed Morrissey

Another Democrat has decided to retire from the Senate rather than face re-election, and this one will hurt. Herb Kohl, currently serving his fourth term in the upper chamber, will announce that he will not seek re-election. Not only does that force Democrats to field a new candidate in Wisconsin, a state that turned Republican in 2010, it means that they lose someone with the potential to be a self-funder as well:

Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl will announce his retirement today according to an informed Democratic source, a decision that sets up a competitive open seat contest in a state that has already drawn considerable national attention this year.

Kohl will make it official this morning with a noon announcement in Wisconsin, the source said. His office did not return an email seeking comment.

Democrats tell Chris Cillizza that they’re looking forward to the race because Scott Walker’s PEU reforms have “energized the party.” Unfortunately for the party, it will also have drained union coffers at a particularly tough moment in Wisconsin politics. It’s also worth noting that the unions with their full financial power still intact couldn’t even unseat a targeted Supreme Court justice in an off-year election. That sounds more like bravado than cogent political analysis.

Who will Democrats tap for the nomination? Cillizza suggests that Russ Feingold might want to make a comeback, but that would be a desperation shot. Feingold’s hard-Left (but honest!) progressivism has clearly faded from favor everywhere but Madison and parts of Milwaukee. Feingold lost an election to a novice last year, and it wasn’t even close. Republicans swept the election, and this year they delivered the best budget in almost two decades, wiping out a series of Democratic billion-dollar-deficit plans. Wisconsin might be open to a Democratic moderate, but they’ll laugh the big-spending Feingold out of the race.

Kohl apparently got the sense of the political situation in Wisconsin and got out. If the party was really as energized as Cillizza’s Democratic sources claim, he’d be running for a fifth term. This race already promised to be a fun watch, and now it just got even better for Republicans.

Update: National Journal notes that this is the sixth Democratic retirement in the Senate (including Joe Lieberman), to three for the GOP, which included John Ensign. They also point out that Kohl is leading the Senate review of the AT&T/T-Mobile merger.

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I’m not too sure I want Ryan leaving the House. I think he can be FAR more effective in the lower chamber as opposed to the Senate. If he runs of course all of us would back him, but he would leave a huge budgetary void from where he is coming from.

We’re taking the Senate next year. Count it, mark it, take it to the bank. We may have blown our chance last year with some idiotic primary decisions, but we know better now.

We just won a statewide election in Wisconsin, while the unions just threw away the last of their coffers. Let’s also not forget the sheer volume of kneecaps Trumka’s going to have to break to deliver Wisconsin to Obama in 2012. You think he’s going to have the time or money even to consider holding this seat?

Better for Ryan to stay in the House, where spending bills have to originate. It takes too long to work yourself up to having much influence in the Senate. And if he lost the Senate race, it would be a true disaster.

Kohl apparently got the sense of the political situation in Wisconsin and got out. If the party was really as energized as Cillizza’s Democratic sources claim, he’d be running for a fifth term. This race already promised to be a fun watch, and now it just got even better for Republicans.

Geez, could you imagine Wisconsin of all places with the Governor’s office and both Senate seats being held by Republicans come 2013? And people think Obama’s a shoo-in for reelection in that kind of political environment?

Eh, I think the unions (it is redundant to say “unions and Democrat party”, since the former owns the latter) are “energized” enough to make winning there a tough battle. But, doable, as the Prosser election showed.

Good f**king riddance. That worthless creep has been sitting on that Senate position for years doing nothing but talking about his beloved Bucks. While I disagreed with Feingold, at least he made his mark and made a reputation. Kohl has nothing. Just a doddering old ninny killing time on the Senate Subcommittee on Aging.

And I’ll also give Feingold this: he and his office would respond rather promptly to questions and correspondence. Sending something to Kohl was like throwing it in the trash. Nothing would ever come of it.

Geez, could you imagine Wisconsin of all places with the Governor’s office and both Senate seats being held by Republicans come 2013? And people think Obama’s a shoo-in for reelection in that kind of political environment?

Doughboy on May 13, 2011 at 11:03 AM

Weird isn’t it? WI could very well have 2 GOP Sens, a GOP gov and a GOP state house/senate.

Let’s not get too excited over a Republican takeover of the Senate with regards to Obama. Lots of people will vote GOP for the senate and still vote Obama for prez. I don’t get how someone could do that personally, but it happens.

In 1984 Reagan won 49 states, yet the Dems picked up a Senate seat. In 1996, Clinton won big as well, yet Reps picked up 2 seats.

I disagree with those who think Ryan should not jump at this chance. A term and re-elect as senator would put him in a perfect spot to run for the WH in 2020.

Think about how cool it would be to have Ryan as the Budget chairman in the senate! I don’t even know who the ranking republican is for that post, but given Ryan’s street-cred on all things budget, McConnel would be a fool to not – at least – consider that possibility.

As for Montana, yeah. I don’t envy them. I may have a liberal gov and two Communist senators, but at least my state is blue New York, not red Monatana.

KingGold on May 13, 2011 at 11:44 AM

Montana is socially conservative but also loves govt pork. As long as a Dem is relatively pro-gun, they can be Karl Marx’s twin brother on all other issues and they’ll get elected as long as they bring home the pork. The “cut govt spending” message doesn’t resonate so well to people that are addicted to spending.

MadCon may or many not agree with my first look at who’s in the running to succeed Nobody’s Senator, but it is a “first look”.

Steve Eggleston on May 13, 2011 at 11:48 AM

While I think the viability of those names is spot on…I personally hope they don’t actually consider it. Van Hollen and Ryan are right where they need to be. Neumann, I think, is a lost cause. I’ll eat broken glass if Tommy Thompson pops up again. I just want him to go away. Tim Michels, though, is a possibility. And if Ron Kind turns out to be the Democratic nominee, I’ll actually breathe a sigh of relief. I’m more afraid of David Obey making noise.

And if Tammy Baldwin actually vacates her House seat…f**k it, I’ll run.

I also think Ryan should stay where he is. I agree with Madcon that Kohl never get backs to you when you email him. I’m glad he’s leaving though. I’m glad the Dems blew a lot of money up there, less for them to spend this go around. The suburbs are really going to vote in masse so we don’t have to have a close race like Prosser.

Just think, the unions have to have voluntary dues, so their war chest will be lower by at least 90%. They just blew their wad on that stupid woman for the court race. AND they are blowing more of their wad on the recall campaigns. They will be broke for the 2012 regular election cycles.

That’s because of all the Californians who moved there and screwed the place up. Liberals are good at ruining a place and then moving on (usually with a big fat public employee pension) to ruin someplace else. Colorado and New Mexico are other examples of viral, liberal mission creep.

That’s because of all the Californians who moved there and screwed the place up. Liberals are good at ruining a place and then moving on (usually with a big fat public employee pension) to ruin someplace else. Colorado and New Mexico are other examples of viral, liberal mission creep.

Who is kidding who here? For once and for all, Let me set the record straight, okay? Senator “Do-Nothing” retired the first day of his first term. In fact, the only reason Senator “Do-Nothing” became a Senator was for the page…boys! Did I just say that, or was I thinking that…